Looking for a certain tone to my guitar?!
Question: I have a squier strat and amp.The amp as a small distortion built in.I 'm looking for a punk/metal tone.What numbers does the knobs need to be at?
Answers: I have a squier strat and amp.The amp as a small distortion built in.I 'm looking for a punk/metal tone.What numbers does the knobs need to be at?
Ignore the cork sniffers who think you need to have a certain piece of gear to sound a certain way. You mentioned only that you're looking for a punk/metal tone, but think a bit in the bigger picture. Punk (and metal) is about attitude, and that needs to come through in your playing. Lots of legendary acts have used or continue to use what is considered terrible gear, because they've learned to utilize what they have, and concentrate on the SONG. You have a perfectly serviceable, if rather spartan, set-up. Here are a few suggestions:
If you're playing by yourself outside of a band context, a "scopped" sound would be fine. Scooped tone is normally bass and treble (highs) turned nearly as far right as they can go, with the mids turned to the far left and the gain (distortion) knob turned up as high as it can go. This would sound horrible in a band context, as there wouldn't be any definition... the guitar is a mid-range instrument, so let it shine!
I would suggest that you start out with everything "flat", generally meaning everything in the middle on 5. Make sure that your guitar's tone and volume knobs are all the way up too. Set your volume and gain first, and when you get to the point that you think it sounds really great, back off the gain just a HAIR. Go through and adjust the other knobs to taste, but consider turning the mids up just a bit more than where you liked them... just enough to focus the sound, not radically change it. From there, you can play with pickup selection and your onboard knobs. This way you can find your own idealized tone, and understand better how all the knobs work together.
If you find a setting you really like, I suggest taking a picture of it instead of simply writing it down. A visual reference is the best way to go!
Good luck! Don't be discouraged by people who get down on you because of your gear. Play with conviction and passion and with a tone YOU like, and you'll be well on your way to finding your own style.
get a Line6 Pod XT
http://line6.com/podxt/
or Pocket Pod
http://line6.com/pocketpod/
I got mine on eBay for $170 (originally $300)
A little vague, man. What knobs does the amp have? If it's in the dirty channel (distortion) and you have a GAIN and CONTOUR dial, turn 'em both UP! This will get you there. If these knobs aren't there, play with the tone settings while the distortion is on.
Every thing on ten ( not the reverb ) then turn the master up to the level you want
Sell the guitar and amp. Get a real guitar and a serious amp. Then get a distortion unit. Or just a Marshall stack.
Well, first make sure you have only the pickup closest to the bridge selected, that way you'll get the most "metal" tone out of it. However since it is a Squire Strat it's gonna be a little more difficult with only single-coils. For your amp settings I'd put the high setting all the way up, you mids at about 3-5, and your bass around 6-8. It's also gonna depend on what amp you have, tinker around with it and you should be able to find it.